Decision Making

Running Head : DECISION MAKING : SNACK FOODS

Research on Decision Making : Snack Foods

Name

Name of University

Name of Professor

Subject

Research on Decision Making : Snack Foods

Introduction

Company W is a company that also manufactures snack foods . The Research and Development (R D ) department of Company W has developed a new formula for one type of snack food that is cheaper to make the current formula . They want to conduct a study to test the new formula with consumers . The purpose of the study is to test and

analyze the results

Literature Review

The snack food market is constantly changing relative to product types and although most snack are not primarily consumed for their nutrients many snacks are made with nutrition in mind . The snack food industry is experiencing extraordinary changes from the consumer 's point of view Consumers want snacks to not only taste good , but also smell good , feel good and look good . Snacks should give the consumer a homemade /fresh feel . Some of the snacks are developed with a special theme in mind like world soccer . These snack pellets are soccer ball shaped , which upon frying or microwaving become soccer balls

In the last ten years , changes in life-style and eating patterns have led to a gradual increase in demand for snack foods . The patterns of snacking in different countries can be affected by several factors such as the lifestyle in each area , the economic climate , rival foods and public receptiveness of current views on nutritional matters . Snacks can provide an increased dietary intake of essential amino acids and other nutrients for developing countries

Methodology and Data Analysis

Company W will randomly select a sample from the possible population and this will be done randomly . Three qualitative attributes of the snack foods would be asked from the respondents which include two ordinal and one nominal attribute , using a 5 point rating scale . These qualitative attributes and their respective rating scale are

Intensity of Color 1 - not intense

2 - moderately not intense

3 - neither intense nor not intense

4 - moderately intense

5 - very intense

B . General Acceptability 1 - very unacceptable

2 -moderately unacceptable

3 - neither acceptable or unacceptable

4 - moderately acceptable

5 - very acceptable

C . Flavor 1 - Sweet

2 - Sour

3 - Salty

4 - Bitter

In addition to this , two quantitative attributes of the snack foods which the scientists would measure would be (1 ) quantity /weight of the snacks and (2 ) number of snacks per serving (serving size

There are four basic types of quantitative data , usually known as nominal , ordinal , interval and ratio data . They have different mathematical properties , which affect their analysis

Nominal data are the simplest type to conceptualize , but the least conducive to statistical analysis , since they only describe things . An example is eyegaze , the movement of a subject 's eyes during an observation session . It is not possible to quantify this movement from observation alone , but the positions of the eyes can be described . For example , the different movements can be assigned...